cortexafan

Hi all, I'm a first-year in a competitive, fully-funded history program. Only problem? A semester in, I am sure that this is not the right career path for me. I am unenchanted with academia, the life of the mind, and what seems like a relentless pursuit by incredibly smart people of small, minute details that get them nowhere. I am genuinely unhappy in the day-to-day of the program. My question is: do I leave after this semester, or stay? After this semester, I will have 7courses completed, including a thesis-length paper. My school doesn't award masters to PhD students until they've taken 14 courses and passed comps, which will take me another year and a half, at least. BUT: There is a masters program, for which students need 8 courses and a thesis for completion. How do I ask about dropping down/getting my masters early? I would stay on even if I needed to pay for one semester, but cannot see myself staying if it means an additional 3/4 semesters after this one. The masters program isn't funded, which I can see as an obstacle- will they ask me to pay back for this year? I am nervous about letting on that I want to drop out, and feel that I cannot ask my advisor without having a concrete plan. That said, having a masters will be helpful if I choose to stay in history on the secondary level, especially since I'll have put in a year by the time I quit. Any advice? I feel so lost and can't even figure out who to talk to in my program about all this.